The present invention relates to a mixed surfactant system.
Polymers are used extensively to make a variety of products which include blown and cast films, extruded sheets, injection molded articles, foams, blow molded articles, extruded pipe, monofilaments, and nonwoven webs. Some of such polymers, such as polyolefins, are naturally hydrophobic, and for many uses this property is either a positive attribute or at least not a disadvantage.
There are a number of uses for polymers, however, where their hydrophobic nature either limits their usefulness or requires some effort to modify the surface characteristics of the shaped articles made therefrom. By way of example, hydrophobic polymers, such as polyolefins, are used to manufacture polymeric fabrics which are employed in the construction of such disposable absorbent articles as diapers, feminine care products, incontinent products, training pants, wipes, and the like. Such polymeric fabrics often are nonwoven webs prepared by, for example, such processes as meltblowing, coforming, and spunbonding. Frequently, such polymeric fabrics need to be wettable. Wettability can be obtained by spraying or otherwise coating (i.e., surface treating or topically treating) the fabric with a surfactant solution during or after its formation, and then drying the web.
Some of the more common topically applied surfactants are nonionic surfactants, such as polyethoxylated octylphenols and condensation products of propylene oxide with propylene glycol, by way of illustration only. These surfactants are effective in rendering normally hydrophobic polymeric fabrics wettable. However, the surfactant is readily removed from the fabric, often after only a single exposure to an aqueous liquid.
Substantial efforts have been directed to increasing the durability of surfactants which are topically applied to a polymeric fabric. Such efforts include the following, by way of illustration:
(1) use of a composition which includes water, a primary surfactant, and a cosurfactant which is functional to wet the fabric with the composition and which provides for substantially uniform distribution of the primary surfactant onto the polymeric fabric;
(2) use of a surfactant, with or without a nonionic cosurfactant, which is the reaction product of an acid anhydride derivative, such as a substituted succinic anhydride, with a polyhydroxy compound, such as sorbitol, a polyethylene glycol, methanolamine, a polyhydroxyamine, certain primary, and secondary amines, and certain unsaturated aliphatic sulfo compounds;
(3) use of a surfactant, with or without a nonionic cosurfactant, which is the reaction product of certain unsaturated aliphatic sulfo compounds with the reaction product of an acid anhydride derivative, such as a substituted succinic anhydride, with a polyamine having at least one NH group capable of addition to a double bond;
(4) use of a surfactant mixture which includes an ester-acid, ester salt, or a mixture thereof and an amidic-acid amidic salt or mixture thereof with or without a nonionic cosurfactant; and
(5) use of a surfactant mixture which includes a sorbitol succinate surfactant, such as an ethoxylated amino sorbitol succinate salt or an alkenyl succinate anhydride ethoxylated fatty amine salt, and a cowetting aid which can be, for example, a silicone polyether or a primary, or secondary alcohol having up to about 8 carbon atoms.
Notwithstanding the advances which have been made in rendering topically applied surfactants more durable on a polymeric fabric. i.e.. more resistant to removal by an aqueous liquid, there still is a need for further improvement.